That looks like a lot of fun to do. Well, my idea of fun anyway. I only know how to do the simple honeycomb smocking. Do you fancy showing us how to do some of those nice decorative stitches you've got in there? Hand sewing is my meditation it seems. It would be nice to add smocking to the toolbelt.

I was at an awkward Christmas party once when a stranger showed me several years' worth of family pictures in which everyone wore matching smocked outfits (boys included). It was rather vomitous. Smocking didn't appeal to me after that.

However, I'm excited to see what you, the non-frilly, are making of it (: Maybe you'll tempt my embroidering side.

this looks like american smocking. my mom does this type called english smocking that you have to run the fabric through pleater first, and the pleats are held together with thread, then when you are done smocking you pull the threads out.

OH MY GOSH!! I can't believe I FINALLY found this tutorial! THANK YOU for posting this! I ALSO learned how to do hand-smocking like this back in 1973 in Home Ec class, when I was 13 and I have forgotten how I did it! I have been playing around with a darn piece of gingham trying to recreate it with no luck. When I was 13 and after learning how to do this, I made a large pillow in the exact same COLOR as the light blue color you show here! It was really beautiful and I kept it for many years before tiring of it and throwing it out which I later regretted deeply. Thank you SO MUCH!!

Hello and Welcome!

I am a gratefully unemployed mom of three girls, all of whom are growing up much too soon! I like piles of warm, fresh laundry, the smell of salt air near the beach where I used to live, making lists, anything round (like heads) and the quiet evenings sitting with the man of the house after the kids are in bed.

Copyright

You are welcome to link to this blog and to any post on this blog and use ONE or TWO photos for that purpose. Do not use photos of my children. You are welcome to pin images from my blog, if those photos do not have my children's faces in them. Please contact me if you want to use the text on, or more photos from, this blog. Do not post my tutorials on your sites. Do not translate tutorials from this blog into other languages on your site. The ideas and instructions in the tutorials are free - but please use them to only make stuff for yourself or for gifts and not to sell. Ta! For more information, this and this might be helpful.